This shaved fennel salad recipe uses thinly sliced fennel bulb, cucumber, and fresh dill tossed in a lemony dressing. Refreshing and light, it is a vegan side dish that can be made ahead and pairs well with many things!
Why You’ll Love Fennel Salad!
This fennel salad has quickly become one of my favorites! Crunchy and bright, it is so refreshing and light. This is the perfect introduction if you haven’t tried a fennel bulb in its raw state.
Fennel has a subtle anise or licorice flavor, and it’s lovely in salads because of its texture and crunch. And it really loves being paired with dill! Thinly sliced, it is delicious when served raw in salads. The dressing in the slaw highlights its flavor, and it becomes the perfect pairing for many things. I love it as a light and refreshing side dish with our grilled salmon and grilled chicken– so delicious!
Ingredients in Fennel Salad Recipe
- Fresh fennel bulbs– trimmed and cored; save some fennel fronds (leaves) for the garnish.
- Thin-skinned cucumbers– English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers, or Turkish cucumbers
- Fresh chopped dill– or try other fresh herbs (fresh mint, basil, Italian parsley, cilantro)
- Onion, red onion, white onion, or sweet onion
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fresh Lemon juice and lemon zest (Meyer lemon is best)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sweetener: sugar, honey or agave
How to make The Best Fennel Salad
Prep the fennel. Trim the ends, then cut fennel bulbs in half lengthwise and remove the hard core.
Shave the Fennel. Using a mandolin, shave the fennel thinly and place it in a bowl. You can also finely slice it using a chef’s knife—you want it paper thin. Tip: To prevent injuries, always use a cut-resistant glove when using a mandolin.
Finely slice cucumber and onion with the mandolin, chop the dill and place all in a large bowl.
Combine. Add olive oil, lemon, salt and cracked pepper and sweetener. Toss well and taste; adjust salt and lemon before serving.
Expert Tip
A mandolin will transform the fennel into paper-thin, manageable ribbons and using a mandolin makes this salad fast and easy—but take care! They can slice your fingers, too—always use a cut-resistant glove. Of course, you can also use a good chef’s knife to slice as thinly as possible.
Ways to Serve Fennel Salad
Fennel Salad is perfect paired with salmon! We love it with:
- Pan-Seared Salmon with Chia Crust
- Perfect Grilled Salmon
- Quick and Easy Salmon Cakes (3 Variations)
- Citrus Baked Salmon with Fingerlings
- Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce and Asparagus
More Fennel Recipes You’ll Love!
Enjoy the Fennel Salad and let us know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
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Best Fennel Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups
- Category: Salad, vegan salad
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: american
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This fennel salad recipe is easy to make with cucumber, dill, and a tangy lemon dressing. A simple, refreshing vegan side dish!
Ingredients
- 2 medium fennel bulbs- trimmed and cored (about 1 lb)
- 2 cups thin-skinned cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh dill
- 1/8–1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste (***Meyer lemon is really nice here, or sub rice wine vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 1–2 teaspoons sugar or honey (see notes)
Instructions
- Trim the ends off the fennel bulbs, cut in half legnthwise and remove their core with a sharp knife.
- Using a mandolin, shave the fennel bulb paper thin and place it in a large bowl. Use a cut-resistant glove to protect your fingers. (Or finely slice as thin as possible with a chef’s knife). You should have about 6 cups packed.
- Shave the cucumber and onion with the mandolin and place in the bowl.
- Add the chopped dill and zest the lemon over the salad.
- Toss in the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sweetener and toss well.
- Taste and adjust salt, honey, and lemon to taste, adding more as needed.
Notes
Lemon: If you use regular lemons, you’ll need a little more honey or sugar, but if you use Meyer Lemons, you’ll need less sweetener. This salad also works nicely with a mild vinegar like rice wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
Onion vs Shallot- I have tried this with red onion, shallot, white onion, and sweet onion- shallot is too strong, I prefer red onion, or sweet onion. Feel free to soak the onions in salted water first to take the “bite” out of them.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 235
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 241.6 mg
- Fat: 9.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.2 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 1.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Such a refreshing and lovely dish! It was incredibly easy to make using a mandolin. It paired so well with your grilled salmon recipe.
Thanks Karen, so glad you enjoyed!
This may be one of my favorite recipes ever! So cool, light and refreshing, and a breeze to make with my food processor using the thin slicing disk.
Last minute I decided to add some thinly sliced naval oranges I had which added a great burst of color and perfect flavor with the fennel. If I had had toasted sliced almonds those would be good also, but didn’t have any and didn’t miss them! ☺️
Another plus is the leftovers the next day were even better after sitting.
I sincerely thank you so much for this recipe! I love to cook and seldom repeat recipes, however I can guarantee this will be made often!!!!
The oranges sounds lovely Stephanie! Yay, I’m so happy you liked this!
Would anyone recommend it with duck confit and mashed potatoes? I make braised sauerkraut or red cabbage with duck legs confit, but it’s heavy, and I want some brightness. Cassoulet or cabbage just don’t quite deliver.
Would any who had tried it comment on the pairing? Thank You 🙏 in advance.
It sounds like just the thing to add a bit of brightness to the meal!
I love you!
Awwwww. thanks!
Keep up the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys
What is the weight of the serving? Not indicated in your nutritional evaluation.
Hi Heidi- sorry have not wieghed the finished dish here.
Simple , easy, perfect for fish. Thanks .
Thanks Rene!
This was delicious. I made it without any additional sweetness and decided to use a squeeze of agave as another reviewer had added some honey. It would have been good with or without the added sweetness. I did shave some Parmesan on the top. When I was looking for fennel salads, several did have Parmesan so I did add, but just like the added sweetness, it was delicious without!!!
Awesome thanks- glad you liked it! 🙌
I will note the recipe- thanks. I use Meyer lemons in this so I think that may be the difference.
Wonderful on a hot summer day!
Thanks! Glad you like it!
I made this recipe (no onion) and it was a big hit. So fresh and the fennel is very refreshing.
How,is this 205 calories?
Never mind. Probably from the oil.
Delicious. Made a lemon vinaigrette. Tasty, crunchy. Looking forward trying this in a variety of ways, on tacos, and a bowl as a side salad.
I just found this recipe because I was looking for something to do with leftover dill and fennel. This salad is absolutely delicious!
The fennel salad is aabsolutely delish. The fresh crisp light flavor is a delight. I saved some for the end of my meal as a palte cleanser.
Great site for fabulous recipes.
Recomend to everyone. ?
One of the best I have had. So very delish. Kept wanting more but to full. THANK YOU
This looks so delicious. I’m always looking for different ways to serve vegetables. I’ll be trying this!
I adore raw fennel and combining it with cucumber sounds so refreshing. I can’t wait to try this salad!
Gorgeous salad. I love fennel .. looks absolutely beautiful!
This sounds delicious! The first time I tried fennel, I was inspired by the shaved fennel apple salad featured in an issue of the Vegetarian Times. It was dressed with nothing but olive oil, lemon juice and snippings from the aromatic fennel greens. I was extremely hesitant to taste it, but the crisp, bright taste of the fennel made me fall in love. Hard. And instantaneously. Anyway. Thank you for posting this as I am now a major fennel salad proponent. You should try it mixed with thin slices of Granny Smith apple. 🙂
This sounds delicious! The first time I tried fennel, I was inspired by the shaved fennel apple salad featured in an issue of the Vegetarian Times. It was dressed with nothing but olive oil, lemon juice and snippings from the aromatic fennel greens. I was extremely hesitant to taste it, but the crisp, bright taste of the fennel made me fall in love. Hard. And instantaneously. Anyway. Thank you for posting this as I am now a major fennel salad proponent. You should try it mixed with thin slices of Granny Smith apple. 🙂
This looks so light and refreshing. I love fennel! I bet it would be good with a little kick of thinly sliced jalapenos too!
Very bright and refreshing. Love that it is so different from other salads, not boring. I added radishes instead of onions, because that is what I got from my CSA this week. Gave it a kick.
This is a great salad to remind one of spring. So light and refreshing and I love the added touch of citrus.
YUM! I immediately want to eat this alongside a crunchy crumbed piece of chicken schnitzel. Perfect Combo!
So simple and so good with just a few ingredients. This is the time to break out that really good olive oil too! Mmmmmm.